Editorial assistant Nariman Jiries interviewed Eric Varney, principal of Elbridge Elementary School, who was inducted into the Liverpool High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He is a 1987 graduate of Liverpool High School and was on the Warriors football team.

Name: Eric M. Varney

Age: 41

Where do you live? Clay

How long have you lived there? 12 years

Where are you originally from? I grew up in the Liverpool area and went to Liverpool schools.

Family: Wife, Julie, sons, Ethan, 9, and Jackson, 6

How long have you been the principal of Elbridge Elementary? One year; three years at Ramsdell Elementary, which also is in the Jordan-Elbridge district.

What other jobs have you worked? Assistant high school principal at Baldwinsville; BOCES summer school principal; fourth- and fifth-grade teacher.

What is the best part about your job? Interacting with the students each day. We have such a close-knit school community at Elbridge and there is always a friendly little face just a classroom away.

What is the most challenging part? You have to be prepared for the unexpected. No two hours in the school day are the same.

How did you feel when you found out about your induction to the athletic Hall of Fame? I was fortunate enough to get the call from my high school coach at Liverpool, George Mangicaro. I had a deluge of memories from my playing days at LHS. I told Coach that after all of these years, I felt like I was coming home again. I was very proud to wear the orange and blue, and I still hold that close to my heart.

Can you tell us about your high school football experience? As a 14-, 15-year-old kid, there is something to be said about walking out in front of thousands of fans, under the towering lights on a September Friday night. I had the opportunity to start three years on the offensive line at Liverpool and play with, and against, tremendous talent. Many of those kids also went on to play major college football; some even went to play in the NFL. That competition can only serve to make you a better football player. Though I walked away from Liverpool with a few personal accolades (co-captain, all-state center; all-Upstate; all-league) it was the ferocious battles we had against the likes of Rome Free Academy, Baldwinsville and Henninger that continue to resonate in my mind.

Did you play any sports in college? Played football at Fork Union Military Academy, and also at State University of New York at Albany.

Describe your personality: My job and the complexities of my family life demand that I be responsible, adaptable and organized. Mastering those three traits will carry you through a lot of what life has to offer.

What advice do you give to children about the importance of getting an education? I was very fortunate to have two parents who worked in education when I was growing up. It really drove home just how important an education is. I try to tell kids that with each level of academic success they achieve, a new set of doors will open up for them. There certainly is a lot of truth to the adage education is a journey and not a destination.

What do you say to a child who has been sent to the principal’s office? Each morning, our students recite the Elbridge School Promise. The students promise to respect themselves, their schoolmates and their school. When I sit down with a child, I often try to get them to look at the bigger picture of how their actions have impacted the school community. We have so very few discipline problems at our school because of the accepted belief that we are all responsible to each other.

What’s the greatest obstacle you’ve had to overcome? A little over a month ago, I suddenly and unexpectedly lost my mother. My parents were always there for my brother and me. That’s why I was so happy to share the news of my Hall of Fame induction with her and my father. Sadly, she could not attend the ceremony, but I know that she was there with me in spirit.

What is the best advice you ever heard? Adversity introduces a man to himself. Who we are and how we have arrived there are determined in large part by how we have managed the obstacles thrown in our path.

What are you passionate about? My family is paramount to everything else in my life.

What is your key philosophy in life? I have a sign in my office that states: “Even when you fall on your face, you are still moving forward.”